The CFPB has fundamentally misread the situation consumers are facing during the #COVID19 pandemic and needs to change gears FAST. I've written a white paper on what it can do. Here's a quick rundown: THREAD 1/12

. @CFPB "has been proceeding as if it is oblivious of the new and urgent risks facing consumers. It is relaxing various duties for financial companies...at a time when the focus needs to be placed on the grave economic hardship now confronting millions of Americans." 2/12

INFORMATION is the first step. @CFPB just as our brave medical professionals can't save lives without the right equipment and tests, a consumer protection agency can't do it without ample information on what is going on in the marketplace. 3/12

I write: “We can’t expect our public health authorities to resolve the COVID-19 pandemic without adequate testing to see who has the disease. By the same token, the CFPB can hardly do its job without diagnosing the problems in its sphere of work.” 4/12

One of the best things we did when I was @CFPB was to create the consumer response system. “The CFPB should use it to learn from consumers what exactly is happening and make the answers publicly available.” It cannot be a “backstop,” as @CFPBDirector has suggested. 5/12

We all remember the terrible foreclosure crisis a decade ago. I was Ohio’s attorney general when it started before joining @CFPB. It is critical that the agency use its supervisory authority carefully to ensure that homeowners benefit from the protections in the #CARESAct 6/12

Keeping people in their homes demands attention to MORTGAGE SERVICERS. Companies that collect payments and handle requests for forbearance (delayed payments) and send money on to mortgage investors. Servicers need to comply with “the letter and spirit” of the #CARESAct 7/12

That means “helping consumers avoid foreclosures wherever possible, rather than using the money made available by Treasury and the Federal Reserve simply to pad their bottom lines … close supervision and enforcement are essential.” 8/12

“If that does not happen, millions of Americans will lose their homes needlessly,” I write. Let’s all remember the #WallStreet-induced crash of 2008 and its effects on ordinary people. Let’s not have another foreclosure crisis. 9/12

Likewise, @CFPB needs to keep a close eye on debt collectors and credit bureaus. Abusive behavior by them during #COVID19 crisis could damage the financial well-being of millions of consumers for years to come. 10/12

If ever there was a moment made for @CFPB, this is it! Right now, consumers urgently need an ally in the federal government that defends them from financial distress at a time of acute economic hardship. 11/12

Want more? Read the paper yourself. 12/END https://medium.com/@RichCordray/cfpbwhitepaper-193a5aed0d75